Sounders sign Uruguayan midfielder Fernandez

The Freddie Ljungberg era appeared over Thursday when the Sounders announced the signing of Uruguayan national team midfielder Alvaro Fernandez.

Fernandez, 24, played in four matches in the World Cup, starting against Ghana. He has 11 caps for his national team.

The Celeste finished fourth in the tournament, losing to Germany in the third-place game. Fernandez said he was approached about a move to Seattle during the World Cup.

“I’m very excited to be playing in the U.S. because the football has grown a lot in the last few years and keeps getting better,” Fernandez said in a Sounders news release. “Seattle is beautiful and I think it’s the ideal place to be with my family. All these things helped in making my decision.”

Fernandez said he recently was married and his wife is expecting.

“… I’m hoping to bring her here as soon as possible to be with me,” he said at training Thursday.

Fernandez, known as “El Flaco” for his slight build, is the Sounders’ third designated player. His signing will be finalized after his international transfer certificate is received.

“We have been tracking Alvaro for a while,” general manager Adrian Hanauer said Thursday. “Versatility, quality, character, a lot of the same attributes that we have been interested in all along. Alvaro is a player who has a very good pace. He is good in the air. … Again, we just felt like another quality player was necessary to continue to build on what we have got and certainly to make a run for the playoffs.”

Terms of his contract were not disclosed by the team.

He was most recently on loan from Nacional in Montevideo to Chilean club Universidad de Chile in Santiago, where he scored one goal in 11 appearances.

“Alvaro is a versatile player who can play in a number of midfield positions,” head coach Sigi Schmid said in the team release. “He brings good energy to the game as well as World Cup experience. He can score and also set-up others.”

The addition of Fernandez pushes Ljungberg closer to his seemingly inevitable exit from Seattle. The Swedish midfielder is still in Seattle, but he has been away from the team since he was sidelined by an ankle injury. He has not played since July 4.

Schmid said the addition of a young international player with room to improve is good for Major League Soccer.

“I think if we can show ourselves to be a viable league to bring in players like that and they are going to continue to grow and continue to develop,” Schmid said at practice Thursday. “Obviously if he does well then one day he might move on but then that opens up the door for the next guy to do the same thing. I just think when you get players at that age and at that level it just shows that you are a more viable league, that you are higher up in that pecking order across the world.”